Exiled coach returned, MSU gets back to football

MANKATO, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota State has survived some turbulent months to reach this season opener.

Now the Mavericks are poised to solidify their status as an NCAA Division II power, hopeful of producing headlines for their play on the field rather than the controversy off of it.

Todd Hoffner has returned as the coach after a banishment of nearly two years, stemming from child pornography charges he was fully exonerated of. On his first day back on the job this spring, players refused to practice out of support for Hoffner's replacement.

FILE - In this April 15, 2014, file photo, Todd Hoffner, former football coach at Minnesota State, Mankato, tears up as he talks about getting back to coaching football after being fired more than a year ago, during a news conference in Minneapolis. The most attention Minnesota State University used to get outside of Mankato was confusion with the fictional team from the 1990s sitcom ¿Coach.¿ Now the Mavericks are as exposed as a small-college program has ever been, following the bizarre events that forced coach Hoffner out two years ago on child pornography charges and sent him back to the job this spring at the initial resistance of the players after he was exonerated in court. (AP Photo/Star Tribune, Kyndell Harkness, File) MINNEAPOLIS-AREA TV OUT MAGS OUT ST. PAUL OUT

But the bad feelings were pushed aside, and players have readjusted to the coach who recruited them.

Hoffner was placed on leave prior to the 2012 season, fired by the university the following year and reinstated by an arbitrator.

FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2012, file photo, Minnesota State, Mankato football coach Todd Hoffner speaks to reporters at a news conference in Mankato, Minn., as his wife Melodee looks on. The most attention Minnesota State University used to get outside of Mankato was confusion with the fictional team from the 1990s sitcom ¿Coach.¿ Now the Mavericks are as exposed as a small-college program has ever been, following the bizarre events that forced coach Hoffner out two years ago on child pornography charges and sent him back to the job this spring at the initial resistance of the players after he was exonerated in court. (AP Photo/Star Tribune, Marlin Levison, File) ST. PAUL OUT; MINNEAPOLIS-AREA TV OUT; MAGS OUT